Rosepetal Requiem
by Kayokane
Summary: Ruby awakens on a cliff looking out to the sea, but she soon learns things are not the same as when she had fallen asleep. How did she get to this alternate world of Remnant and what has changed from the world she knows?
1. Chapter 1

A girl wearing a crimson red cloak opened her eyes against the burning orange of the rising sun. She stretched and rubbed the sleep from her eyes uncertain of when she had fallen asleep, but glad that she didn't miss the sunrise. She checked her red-lined black waist cincher to ensure it didn't loosen itself as she slept. The girl proceeded to check her black skirt and blouse as well, wiping off some loose grass from her outfit before sighing contentedly.

"Oh, You're awake," She recognized the voice of her uncle calling out from behind her. It was gruff and slightly slurred. The day was just beginning, and he was already drunk, or still drunk more likely. "Not many people come to this old cliff nowadays. What are you doing up here so early?"

"It's a calming place," The girl replied. She looked around taking in the sights of the cliff again. The two were on a grassy outcropping along a cliff that faced the western sea. In the right conditions, one could see the City of Vale from across the waves. Behind her was a dense, dangerous forest known to be filled with many Beowolves and other Grimm. "You don't usually come this far yourself, Qrow." She finished with a smirk, turning to face the old hunter.

She gasped, "Your eye, Wha-," She stopped as Qrow raised his hand, grimacing.

"About thirteen years back I got in a fight I shouldn't have survived," He explained tracing the scar that cut deep through his right eye. "Glad this is all I lost in that fight. Now then, you know who I am, but I don't believe I recall who you are, kid." He stared down at the girl with an inquisitive look in his lone red eye.

"But Uncle Qrow," The girl started as she stepped back in shock. "It's me, Ruby. You don't remember me?" Ruby's voice shook a bit as she answered. The man, besides his missing eye, was exactly as she remembered him. He had spiky grey-black hair, with dull red eyes and a slight, seemingly permanent, stubble on his chin. He still wore the same grey dress shirt with black pants, shoes, and a tattered red cape.

"Ruby, eh? Can't say I've heard the name before." Qrow looked over the girl carefully, scrutinizing every detail he could. "But getting a good look at you, I'd hazard to guess your last name's Rose, isn't it?"

Ruby nodded silently. There was no anger or malice in his voice, but how Qrow was acting terrified her. 'Did he really not remember me? How did he lose his eye thirteen years ago? I could have sworn he had both the day before.' She thought to herself tearing through her memories and finding them all to be inconsistent with the man standing before her. Pain shot through her mind as she collapsed to her knees, gasping for air.

"Hey, kid, what's wrong?"

Qrow's voice was barely audible over the ringing in her ears. Her breathing became more hoarse and heavy her mind encompassed by the all-consuming pain. Ruby couldn't gather her thoughts to comprehend what the man had said. She tried to stand, but she couldn't find her balance. Ruby collapsed to the ground, and her world vanished.

"Hang in there, kid!" Qrow said, the slur of drunkenness gone from his voice replaced by slight panic. 'Shit, Sum will kill me if I let anything happen to her, uh, niece?' His old teammate hadn't talked about having any family out in the world, so the now collapsed girl in front of him was still a bit of a shock to him.

'She's too old to be one of Sum's. The kid would've had to been born around the time of her...' Qrow growled and waved the thought away, he had work to do. He swooped up the unconscious young Rose with one arm while taking out his scroll with his free hand. He called a number he hadn't even looked at since he retired all those years ago.

"Rose-Xiao Long." A male voice answered.

"Tai, it's Qrow. Is Summer in?" Qrow glanced over at the girl in his arm before slinging her over his shoulder carefully and beginning his dash through the forest; he had to be quick the 'wolves would be out soon.

"No, she's on a mission for Oz, What's up? You seem worried." The man, Tai's, voice became noticeably worried. He naturally seemed to think something had happened to his wife.

"Has Sum ever talked to you about, say a sister, or a niece?" The rushing hunter asked, adjusting the limp form on his shoulder so she wouldn't fall off.

"No, Why?" Three Beowolves jumped out of the brush, cutting Qrow off from his destination and forcing him to stop. Their werewolf-like black forms covered in white bone-like growths and their burning red eyes following his every movement as dozens more began to join. It was quite a large pack.

"I see. Warm up a pot of coffee; I'm coming over. This is gonna be a shocker." Qrow chuckled a bit as he hung up on his old friend and stowed his scroll away.

'Let's see. Only about 40, maybe 50, I won't even need to use my scythe.' He set the girl down and pulled out his massive broadsword. 'Come on old friend; we've got a kid to protect. Hope it doesn't go like last time.' Qrow charged forward, cleaving through 2 of the Beowolves with a single swing, and three more with his second.

The fight didn't last much longer. The Grimm encountered on Patch were generally young, naive, and stupid and with expert hunters like Taiyang, Summer, and even the retired Qrow, there weren't many that survived long enough to get old and smart. Qrow would pity the man who met a Grimm that could survive Patch.

"Dozen got away," Qrow growled, and he turned to the still unconscious girl. "Guess I've lost my touch a bit eh, kiddo?" He chuckled, "Yeah, you're right I can take care of them later. After I get you to a safe place."

A sword was attached to a magnetic clip on the small of her back. The green and grey design of the weapon didn't suit the girls black and red motif. The guard of the sword was made of, what looked like, bronze inlaid in it was a circular pattern with a straight line extending out from the centre towards the blade.

The blade itself was single-edged and thin midway up the length flaring out in an arc towards the point and the guard and reaching its widest points about halfway between the two in either direction before starting to thin again. The spine of the blade was completely straight. There was a cut at the thinnest point halfway up the length, and it was evident that it had some sort of transformation mechanism to it. Etched into the blade near the guard was what looked like a serial number 'PNY01-46X3.'

Qrow sighed, reattaching the sword to its magnetic clip. "I wonder where you got something like that, kid," He stated quietly looking at the mini-Summer before picking her back up and continuing his trek to his old teammates' house.


	2. Chapter 2

The small cabin in the woods was a sight for sore eyes as the half hour journey finally came to its end. A man stood out in front of the building as Qrow, still carrying the unconscious Ruby, jogged down the path towards it.

"It's been awhile, Tai," Qrow said as he reached the man waiting by the door.

"About seven years since Summer snapped at you for your," The blonde paused slightly, "Habits." Taiyang Xiao Long held out his hand expectantly, his blue eyes narrowing in a suspicious glare. He wore a brown vest over a tan dress shirt that had the right sleeve cut off, brown cargo shorts with a dark brown belt and black shoes. On his right arm, he had a steel spaulder, a leather vambrace, a heart-shaped tattoo and a fingerless leather glove. Tied around his left arm was a red bandana.

"Damn," Qrow chuckled, tossing his flask over to the man. "And here I was hoping you'd have forgotten." He finished with a grin.

"Summer would've killed us both if I did," Tai didn't return the smile, "So, who's the girl?" He asked raising an eyebrow as he examined the red-cloaked figure on Qrow's shoulder.

"Says her name's Ruby, looks to be Sum's niece or the like," Qrow responded, "I was hoping you or her could tell me more. Let's get the kid in a bed, my shoulder's getting sore. She's a little too big for piggy-back rides."

"Put her in Yang's bed," Tai started before shaking his head, "We can explain things to her when she gets back from town with the groceries, but for now, where'd you find her? What happened to her?"

"Pour me some Joe, and I'll tell you everything," Qrow said, barging into the cabin to put the girl to bed. "If I'd known today was going to be like this, I wouldn't have gotten out of bed." He sighed.

* * *

"Hehehe, so Uncle Qrow, is it?" Tai laughed. "Not even Yang calls you that." He and Qrow were sitting at the coffee table in the cabin's cozy, but small, living room. Tai sat in an old faded red recliner, while Qrow was relaxing on the couch. Qrow had just finished telling him all he knew about the girl.

"I know what you mean," Qrow laughed as well, "I kind of like the kid, and Firecracker seems to have taken a liken to her, as well." Tai's daughter hadn't left the girls side since she had gotten home. "So, what's Summer been up to lately? You know, besides 'saving' the world with that crazy old Ozpin."

"Don't know," Taiyang answered honestly, "She's been in and out for the past month, barely staying more than an hour. As far as I know, she hasn't left the kingdom at all. She heads to Beacon most of the time. I think she may be taking up a teaching position there this year, and Oz isn't half as crazy as he sounds, Qrow," the blonde sighed, "But let's not open that can of worms again, eh?"

"Sure, agree to disagree and all that," Qrow shook his head. "Today's been a long day, gonna have to hunt down them Beowolves later, can't have survivors going about harrying the town."

"Right, I'll help you with that, hard to believe you'd even let one get away let alone twelve!" Taiyang laughed, "You're getting rusty, but you made the right choice getting the girl out of those woods. Too many people are dying these days, and the Grimm are just getting more and more aggressive. It'd be nice of you to dust off that old scythe of yours and join the fight again."

"I might just have to, yeah, but I ain't going to be working with that fool storyteller, how did he even make headmaster of Beacon when he's obviously half insane!"

"Qrow!"

"Right, right. Sorry," the one-eyed man bit off the last word, as a long-haired blonde rushed in from another room. Her tight-fitted brown jacket worn was worn over a yellow crop top that had a black burning heart crest over her left breast. She wore black shorts and a brown leather belt, lined with pouches and having the same crest, though it was gold instead of black. Around her neck, she wore an orange scarf.

"What's the rush, Yang?" Her father asked.

"The girl, she's waking up!"

Ruby lazily curled herself up in the warm, soft bed she slept in, yawning loudly she opened her eyes to a well-kept room in a wooden cabin. The bed she was laying in had a thick yellow comforter on it that was wrapped around her tightly. On a chair beside the bed was her brilliant red cloak.

'What a weird dream.' The girl thought as she yawned again, 'I could've sworn Uncl-.' Her thoughts cut off as the one-eyed Qrow rushed into the room with her father and sister. "It wasn't a dream?" she asked quietly in shock. "Or am I still..?" She trailed off pinching her arm and wincing at the pain.

"Sorry kid wasn't a-."

"Dad? Yang?" The girl asked interrupting Qrow and looking at the two others in the room. "This is a joke, right? I- I-," Fear was readily apparent in her voice as she choked out the words. "Uncle Qrow's going to pull off that fake scar and we'l-"

"Did she just call you-"

"Call me-"

"Dad?" The three asked simultaneously, and Ruby's heart sank.

"This-," She started crying, "This isn't funny, stop it."

"This isn't a prank, kid? I see you wish it was, but I'm not about to lie to you," Qrow said stepping back to give Ruby some space, "Kid's seriously addled, Tai." He whispered into his friend's ear.

"Look, Ruby, was it?" The girl nodded at Taiyang's question, too confused and distraught to speak. "Tell us everything you remember, no matter how far-fetched it seems, and I can guarantee you I've probably heard crazier stuff." Even Qrow was a bit shocked at how blunt he was.

"Uh, Tai, shouldn't we give the-"

"Trust me Qrow," Taiyang interrupted the former huntsman. "If she doesn't tell us what she can, we can't help her figure out what's happening."

Understanding her father's angle, Ruby took a deep breath to calm herself down before beginning her story. "Well, My name is Ruby Rose. I was born on Patch fifteen years ago, and my parents are Taiyang Xiao Long," She pointed at him, "and Summer Rose. My sister, well my half-sister, is Yang-"

"Half sister!?" Yang exclaimed in shock, stepping back. "But-"

"Listen, for now, Firecracker," Qrow stopped her before she could go into full crisis mode, "We'll discuss it when she finishes. Sorry kid, continue." He nodded to Ruby.

"Right, After about two or three years, Mom went on a mission and never came back. We made a memorial to her on the cliff where we were speaking earlier, Uncle Qrow. Dad just sort of broke down afterwards, and eventually, Yang found out why. Mom was the second person Dad had lost; the first was Yang's mom. She kinda became obsessed with finding out more about her, since Dad wasn't really in any condition to do anything and Uncle Qrow was still out looking for Mom at the time.

"One day about a year after Mom vanished, and right after Dad went to work, Yang put me in the back of a little red wagon, and we went off after a lead she had discovered about her mom. Before you get mad at her, no one else was home, and she wasn't about to let me fend for myself. I'd fallen asleep at some point during the trip, it must have taken hours to get there, but we managed to reach an old barn near the cliffs in the forest.

"It was the place Yang was looking for. The growls woke me up; three Beowolves leaped from the barn. They probably would've killed us both it Uncle Qrow hadn't arrived when he did. He was all like Huwaaa and Wachaa and killed all three in, like, no time at all." The young girl looked up at Qrow with sparkling eyes, tears long since vanished. "When Dad found out what happened, he was on his knees begging for me and Yang, uh sorry, Yang and I to forgive him."

Ruby continued her story for what seemed like hours. She was explaining how Yang would read her stories every night and how she started going to Signal to train to become a Huntress like her mother. Ruby then fondly recounted her training with Qrow on how to use a scythe, which was something she had desired ever since he saved her and Yang at the old barn in the woods.

Eventually, the details of her story became sparse, her recollection of events becoming more and more ambiguous. Qrow raised his hand to stop her as she started clutching her head in pain, "That's enough kid. We don't need you fainting again." He sighed, ' A world where Summer died, eh, she almost makes Ozpin sound sane by comparison. I'm terrified to even think of it.'

"So, since she's obviously not able to tell the story again, would someone kindly give me the short version of events to catch me up." Everyone turned towards the woman's voice at the door.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **A short annotation here to say Thank You to everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story so far.**

 **I'm sorry I disappeared for so long. I've been having a lot of trouble writing the next Chapter of Facing One's Shadow, but I haven't given up on that yet.**

 **This story as a few more chapters prepped for release I just need to go though them all for glaring issues before posting them up.**

 **Again thank you for coming by to read the story.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Summer!?" Taiyang leaped back in shock, "How long have you been standing there?"

"About 10 minutes, When Mini Me started talking about Signal." Summer replied. She had the same deep red hair, which was nearly black at the roots, that Ruby had, and she wore a similar black blouse and skirt combo held together by a waist cincher. The only differences were that she had no red trim on any of her clothes and her cloak was snow white instead of Ruby's crimson red. "Oh, and Qrow, hand it over," Summer crooked an eyebrow and held out her hand.

"Tai has it," Qrow looked over to the other man who was waving the flask as proof. "We're trying not to get ourselves killed remember."

The younger Rose fidgeted uncontrollably seeing the older woman standing there. She twiddled her fingers together as she debated whether she should run up and hug her mother as tightly as Yang usually hugged her. 'That's my mother?' She thought to herself, trying unsuccessfully to recall a moment where she had seen the woman where she wasn't just a still photograph. The strain of seeing her mother for the first time in her memory caused Ruby to faint for the second time that day.

" _Looks like our contenders are... Penny Polendina, from Atlas, and Pyrrha Nikos, from Beacon." An enthusiastic, manly voice shouted over the intercom. Ruby stood in the maintenance hallway trying to get to the other side of the arena to talk to... someone. Across from her stood a grey-haired boy in grey and black clothes that the girl couldn't make out. Something had happened; He shouldn't have been there._

 _The boy put his hand to his chin, "Magnets and metal, that could be bad," He mused knowingly, causing Ruby to panic._

" _Penny..." The girl whispered to herself, remembering what was about to happen. "I have to save her!" She pushed herself as hard as she could, trying to run past the boy in her way. He kicked her hard in the gut sending her flying back towards the door and shooting her scroll out of her hand as she pulled it out to call for help._

" _Now, now, let's keep this between us." The boy smirked as he loomed menacingly over the girl._

" _I have to save her," Ruby muttered quietly to herself as she rose to her feet. She vaulted forward again, but this time she didn't aim for the boy in front of her; instead, she launched herself off the wall and flew past him._

 _Ruby continued to run as fast as she could, hoping that she could make it in time to save her friend. She blew through the door to the arena. Penny still had her blades raised, poised to strike, but as soon as Ruby crossed the threshold into the stadium, they launched forward at blinding speed._

 _Pyrrha only had moments to react as she sent out a massive magnetic pulse sending the blades flying back towards Penny._

" _Penny!" Ruby shouted as the wires crossed over her friend's body, tightening and cutting through the android's body. A piece went flying in the after effect of the magnetic pulse. Penny's head landed at Ruby's feet._

" _R-r-ru... by?" The robotic girl stuttered, "Why- Why di-di-didn't you come sooner?" Penny's head winced as it spoke. "You- You- Yo..." The voice died, and the robot's eyes widened as she shut down._

"Penny!" Ruby sobbed as she shot up out of her bed. She curled herself up sobbing quietly to herself. "I'm sorry, Penny, I'm so sorry." She didn't notice the shadows move in the corner of the room.

Summer sat and watched the poor girl. She hadn't been able to find sleep after Qrow and Taiyang had told her about her supposed daughter. She sipped her coffee quietly as Ruby cried. 'This Penny must be important to her.' She thought as she listened to her sob out sorrowful apologies for being too slow to save a friend.

Summer got up slowly since she didn't want to startle Ruby, who hadn't noticed her yet. "Is everything alright, Little Rose." The older woman gently said as she moved across the room towards the bed. The girl looked up; her eyes swollen with tears. "Did you have a nightmare?" Ruby nodded so slightly it would've been unnoticeable for anyone not paying very careful attention to the girl. "What would Yang have done, if she knew you had a nightmare?" Summer asked. She had an idea what the answer would be, but she also wanted to know how her step-daughter would have taken care of the girl in her absence.

"She'd sing for me," Ruby answered between sobs.

"Ah, a song to banish the shadows, I think I know one or two," Summer smiled, "But first, I need to ask you something. Tomorrow would you like to go for a walk with me through Vale? I'd like to get to know you a bit better." She had wanted time to talk to the child since her story was explained to her, but she had been out since the elder Rose had made her presence known.

"Yes, please," Ruby's face brightened a bit hearing Summer's request as she nodded quickly. "I recall there being a nice shop in Vale where I can get the supplies to rebuild Crescent Rose, Oh that's my weapon it's a-"

"Calm down, Little Rose," Summer said with a giggle. "We'll have time to plan things out over breakfast in the morning. Now, I believe we are due one song, correct?" She began to hum out a lighthearted, cheerful melody. The same song that she used to sing for Yang when she had nightmares.

"Dream of anything, I'll make it all come true..."

Summer only stopped singing after she was confident the poor child was sound asleep. She got up from her chair and proceeded to examine the green and grey sword that sat on the desk beside the bed. "Atlesian metal..." Summer mused, cautious as to not awaken the sleeping Ruby.

The next morning, Ruby shot out of bed in a flurry of red rose petals. She opened the dresser in the corner of the room opposite to her mother who had fallen asleep in her chair sometime during the night. Ruby looked through the clothes in the drawer for a bit before remembering that she was in Yang's room and that she didn't have any of her own clothes in the house.

She whined slightly realizing that she'd have to wear her sweat-stained clothes all day, causing the woman behind her so stir.

"What's wrong Little Rose?" Summer tiredly asked as she stretched her arms above her head. Seeing the child's blushing face and remembering where they were, she clued in. "Ah, I guess we'll have to delay the weapon's shop for a bit and head to the clothing store now won't we? You go have a shower while I get you something to wear. I'll have Tai make breakfast; you'll love his hash-browns."

Ruby burst out of the room with glee, trailing, even more, rose petals behind her and causing Summer to giggle.

"First door on-"

A door slammed shut.

"-the... left." Summer felt she shouldn't have been surprised, but it was still a little overwhelming for her. 'Just who is this girl? Maybe I should tell Oz about her?' She wondered as she went out to prod her lazy husband to work before Summer could though, she saw Yang sitting on the couch by the coffee table.

"Good morning, Yang," Summer said with a smile that quickly faded on seeing the young woman's face, "Are you al-"

"She's wrong, right?" Yang's voice was nearly inaudible. Summer had to move closer to hear her as she continued. "You're my real mother? Or?" The girl was shaking holding herself close.

"It's time I tell you the truth, Yang," This wasn't going to be easy on either of them, but she needed to know. "Ruby is telling the truth. We aren't-"

"But," Tears formed in the blonde's eyes. "How can-"

"Let me handle this, Sum" Qrow appeared from the kitchen carrying a mug full of coffee "Tai's not going to be making any breakfast while he's sawing logs," He chuckled. "I need to spend some more quality time with my niece, anyways."

"Niece?" Yang choked out, dumbfounded.

Summer left the two to talk; she just couldn't bear to watch Yang's world shatter like this. Walking down the hall towards her and Tai's room, she was surprised to see that he was already awake.

"Good morn', Summer," He barely managed to get out through his roaring yawn, "What's for breakfast."

"Hash-browns, Now." Summer stated sternly with a clap of her hands. She smiled as her husband's eyes went wide and he bolted to the kitchen. Summer casually strolled over to her dresser and pulled out some clothes. Ruby was only slightly shorter than her, so she figured her clothes would be a close enough fit while they went and got the younger girl her own outfit.

Summer suddenly remembered something, so she turned her head and shouted, "Don't forget the sausages, Tai!"

"So," Summer started as she took a bite of her buttered toast. She had made it herself, since Taiyang was incapable of making it without burning half the bread to crisps first, "What are everyone's plans for the day?"

"Tai and I will be heading out to hunt those few Beowolves that escaped me last night while I was dragging the kid here." Qrow responded, "Can't have them survivors getting smart on us."

"Right, We'll be bringing Yang with us. She's starting at Beacon this year, so it'll be good to give her a head start," Taiyang laughed, "That and Qrow wants to ensure Oz doesn't brainwash her like he did you and I, Sum."

Yang growled as she bit off a piece of one of the large sausages on her plate. She glared at Ruby making it clear she wasn't happy with finding out about her familial relationships. Ruby herself shrunk into her chair under the red-eyed gaze of the girl two years her elder.

"Yang, be nice to her," Summer chided, "As for me, I'll be taking Ruby into Vale to get her some necessities. She's really looking forward to, and I quote, rebuilding her sweetheart." The comment earned some chuckles from the others at the table, causing Ruby to shrink even further into her chair with a deep red blush as she took small bites of her hash-browns.

"Before we leave, though," Qrow started fishing a scroll from his pocket, "I did a little search of a few databases, and our little Mini Sum here just doesn't exist, so I took it upon myself to get this thing set up for you." He tossed the scroll over the Ruby his voice taking a slightly more sullen tone, "Regretfully, names aren't cheap, so I had to give you one I already prepped a few years back."

Ruby caught the scroll easily and flicked it on. "Rosa... Vermillion?" She muttered curiously.

"Yeah, I set that old thing up when Sum was expecting... ah never mind," Qrow waved off the topic, "You don't need the specifics, I'll just say that if any official's look up that name, what they find will mostly match up with what they see. Just don't go editing the personal info too much." He finished it off with a wink.

"Rosa Vermillion, Age 15," Ruby read through the details on the scroll. "Contacts... already set up. Auntie Summer and Ol' Qrow" The girl nodded. "Thank you Unc- Qrow, I think this will work well enough," She smiled brightly.

"No problem, kid, I honestly didn't expect you to take to it so quickly." Qrow scratched his stubbled chin staring at the newly christened Rosa.

"Whenever you're in a bind, just remember Ol' Uncle Qrow's got yer back," The girl said, mimicking the man down to his drunken slur and earning several surprised gasps. "You set these second names up for me and Yang back before we were born. You never showed them to us, but you did let us know they were there if we needed them and, seeing how I supposedly don't exist, I think I am in need of it." Rosa finished with a toothy grin.

"While we're out on the town, Rosa," Summer repeated the name a few times, getting used to it, "I'll make sure to take a nice picture for you to use as a contact image." She sighed slightly, "It's hard to believe anyone would trust Qrow outright with anything he'd give them," She finished jokingly.

Ruby giggled as everyone finished eating breakfast and started preparing to see to their duties.


	4. Chapter 4

Summer and Ruby were walking through town. The sky had darkened, and the moon was out when they had finished shopping, so they were heading back towards the docks to head home.

"From Dust Til Dawn?" Ruby read the name of a shop just down the street from them. She was curious as to why it sounded vaguely familiar to her.

"Hmm, Do you want to visit that shop? It's not so late that one more shop would hurt." Summer asked when she saw Ruby's curious face. The girl merely nodded, and they walked towards the small building.

They looked in through the glass door before entering and saw an orange haired man with a black bowler cap and dressed in a white suit standing in front of the counter. He and a cane in his right hand. He was flanked by four other men in black suits and hats. One was holding a gun up to the shopkeeper.

"No rest for the righteous," Summer sighed and slowly opened the door, "Stay back, Rosa."

"Just take my lien and leave," The old man behind the counter begged.

"Now, now... I'm not here for your money. Grab th-"

"Ugh, boss," One of the goons tried to get the white-suited man's attention, pointing at the door.

"What, Phil." The man turned and saw the new arrival, "Oh, company!" He said in false cheer, "I suggest you come back another day. This place is currently... sold out."

"Summer Rose, Huntress," The woman said almost mechanically as she drew out twin silvery-white short swords, "You will put away you're weapons and leave now, or be placed under arrest for armed robbery. Your choice."

"Ooh, a huntress!" The man in white cooed before turning to his men, "Well, get her!" The four goons ran towards the entrance as the man in white rose his cane level with his shoulder, and a small reticle popped up exposing a gun barrel. He fired the weapon at Summer forcing her to dodge and allowing his men to push the battle to the streets outside. Ruby merely sidestepped the explosive round letting it whoosh past her harmlessly.

"Oh, there's two of you," The man deadpanned, "How fun. You four take care of White, I'll handle Red."

The men charged at Summer, trying to surround her. They hardly made it halfway to their target when a red blur accompanied by a flurry of rose petals flew past them several times. Loud smacks and clangs were heard as the four men collapsed unconscious. Ruby stopped, standing between the man and Summer. She had her sword held two-handed in a low slightly right angled stance. The icon engraved on the guard of the sword burned a brilliant red.

"Worth every cent," The man muttered looking down at one of the men, "Truly you were." He then looked at the two women standing in front of him, "Well that was very entertaining ladies, but..." He raised his cane again, but before he could fire, Ruby burst into another flurry of rose petals and tackled the man to the ground. "Wha-"

"Roman Torchwick," The anger in the younger girls voice was evident. "You are under arrest."

Summer just blinked, shocked at how good of a fighter the girl was. A roaring screech was the only thing that alerted to Summer that something was wrong as the ground beneath her exploded, sending her flying back towards the shop and skidding along the ground.

"Mom!" Ruby shouted dashing to the woman's side and forgetting about Torchwick.

The man got up and casually brushed the dirt off his suit before picking up his cane. He muttered something under his breath before firing his weapon at the girl. Ruby went flying through the dust shop's window colliding with several shelves of dust. Roman laughed as he ran towards a ladder leading to the rooftop of a nearby building where a woman in a red dress stood staring menacingly down at the streets below.

"Summer!" A blonde haired woman in glasses called out as she arrived at the scene, "Are you alright?" She wore a white pleated top, a black pencil skirt with a high waist and black boots and had a riding crop in hand.

"I'll be fine, Glynda, what about Ru-," Summer coughed, "What about Rosa?"

"Rosa? Who's-" Glynda started.

"My niece, she took a bad hit from Torchwick's weapon. She's in the shop," Summer nodded towards the dust shop as she struggled to her feet.

The two women entered the shop to see Ruby frantically apologizing for the window and destroyed shelves, while the shopkeeper just waved his hands in front of him furiously trying to calm the girl down.

"She seems fine," Glynda stated, "Are you sur-" She stopped as Summer ran up to Ruby and pull the unsuspecting girl into a large bear hug.

"I'm so sorry! Are you Okay? Does it hurt anywhere?" The woman bombarded the girl with questions before giving her a chance to respond.

"I'm fine. I'm fine!" Ruby said trying to reassure her mother, "I've taken worse hits from Ursai and shook them off."

This caused her aunt to shriek. "Rosa Vermillion!" Summer put on her sternest voice as she put the girl down, "What were you doing fighting an Ursa!?"

Glynda pushed the two out of her head momentarily as she collected the shopkeeper's testimony of the robbery and contacted Ozpin. After a short conversation of messages with the Beacon headmaster, she turned to Summer and Rosa.

"Miss Rose, Miss Vermillion," She called there attention with an authoritative voice, "I'm going to have to ask that the two of you come with me so I can ask you some questions about what happened here. Don't worry it won't take too long and both of you will be home for dinner."

* * *

Summer stood by the corner of the interrogation room leaning against the wall and watching as Glynda chastised her niece about the evening's events. She giggled slightly as the strict woman slapped her riding crop against the table by Rosa's hand and causing the girl to squeak.

"And you!" Glynda turned her fury over to the woman in white. "How could you have let your niece do something so dangerous?" She roared, "How would you have explained it to her mother if the poor girl had been ki-"

"First," Summer easily silenced Glynda with her stern tone, "As you probably noticed from your damned cameras, Rosa is quick on her feet. I mean she tackled that Torchwick guy in a quick draw." She sighed then muttered to herself, "That's the last time I let Qrow train anyone. Seco-"

"She was trained by-"

"Yup," Rosa interjected. "Ol' Uncle Qrow, don't let him know I called him old." She evoked a giggle from the elder Rose.

"Oum forbid he finds out someone thinks he's," Summer failed to gasp dramatically through her giggles, "Old!"

Glynda groaned as the door leading into the room opened to reveal an older man wears an olive green suit and wearing weird looking glasses. In one hand, the man held a plate of cookies, and in the other, he held a mug of coffee.

"Rosa Vermillion," He said with a hint of humour in his voice as he leaned towards her. "You… have silver eyes."

"No, they're lightish grey," The girl deadpanned with a smirk. "Or at least, that's what my mother called them. Oh and Uncle Qrow." She added quickly.

"I see," The man responded knowingly, "Well then, from what I understand you were trained, quite well in fact, by said dusty old Qrow."

Rosa nodded.

"I see, and has Qrow told you anything about me?"

"You are, and I quote, 'a maniacal sociopath who was somehow put in charge of a school designed to train warriors' and you 'brainwashed Auntie Summer into your cult of something or other.'" Rosa replied in a well-trained impression of Qrow's voice.

"That does sound like something he would say," The headmaster nodded, "How would you feel about going to said school?"

"I would love too!"

"Very well, Summer, if it's alright with you, would you like to help Glynda with the necessary paperwork?"

"Fine." Summer didn't even try to argue as she and Glynda left the interrogation room, leaving Rosa there with Ozpin.

"So, Miss Vermillion," Ozpin started staring down at the girl before placing the tray of cookies on the table, "What made you defy a trained huntress's orders and fight those men?"

"I..." She paused trying to think of the right words, "I can't say for sure. I just needed to stop Torchwick. If we don't stop him, something bad will happen. People will be hurt." Her tone was slightly sullen, and a hand rose to her head as she felt a small headache forming.

Ozpin smiled slightly. "You're just as reckless as your mother, Miss Vermillion. I'd like to ask that you won't make defying authority a habit of yours while at Beacon. Now, stay here. Your aunt will be back shortly to pick you up." He turned to leave the room before stopping as if he just remembered something, "Oh and I suggest leaving a few cookies for her. That would just be a disaster if you didn't."

"Of course, Sir." She nods to him as he leaves, "Thank you for giving me this chance."

"Take care, Miss Vermillion."


	5. Chapter 5

Later that night, Ruby and Summer finally returned to the cabin on Patch. Taiyang sighed in relief as the two entered the house, "So, what took you so long? Did you find everything she needed?" He asked after they made it barely a foot inside the house.

"Oh yeah, we found everything. We stopped by a small dust shop on the way home and foiled a robbery, as well. Well, I say we, but it was all Little Rose's doing." Summer replied nonchalantly, "I'm quite impressed actually. Her Qrow was a pretty good teacher."

"I was?" Qrow eyebrow popped up as he waved his greeting to the two, "Sounds far more interesting than Tai and me taking out a few 'Wolves."

"It probably was," Summer laughed, "We also met with Ozpin, and some congratulations are in order for Beacon's youngest student. Rosa is going to Beacon." Summer patted Ruby's shoulder, and the young girl giggled awkwardly.

"Really now?" Qrow raised his flask in celebration, "Be careful, kid, that Ozpin will try his damnedest to indoctrinate you into some cult or another. Well I'd better be off, once you've finished that scythe of yours, why not come by my place and give her a whirl? I could use the practice." He heartily chuckled as he left the house.

"Well Rosa," Summer started, "Off to bed with you! The ship to Beacon leaves in three days, so we can start working on... uh, Crescent Rose, was it?" The girl nodded, "We can start working on Crescent Rose tomorrow." Ruby ran towards the room she now shared with Yang and Summer sighed slightly when she heard the door shut.

"So, Summer, what are your thoughts on Ruby?" Taiyang asked quietly eyes fixed on the hall towards his daughter's room, "I mean, now that you've gotten a chance to know her."

"Well," She mused over her thoughts slightly, "She seems like a good kid. She's fast, strong, and kind. I don't think she's lying, but I feel the need to keep an eye on her..." Summer struggled a bit to summarize her thoughts, but felt satisfied with her answer, "What about you, Tai?"

"We always wanted a daughter between us," Taiyang said flatly, "Someone to keep Yang company when you were out saving the day for some poor folks somewhere. Never did pan out. Guess you could say I'm glad, knowing what the price would be, that things are the way they are. To think there's a chance there's a me somewhere out there who had to take care of two little girls with the help of that drunken fool." He sighed, emphasizing his point, "I don't think I could do it without you. Not after Raven."

Summer drew herself closer to her husband and pulled him into a deep hug, "Don't think about that, I'll always be here for you."

Ruby and Yang sat across from each other. Ruby was on a cot that was set up sometime that day so Yang could have her bed back.

The elder girl stared red-eyed fury at the younger. "I want to make one thing clear, Rosa," The blonde brawler stated flatly. "I'm not overly fond of you, and I'll tolerate you for now, but if you ever hurt mom..." Yang trailed off as she stared down the terrified red-haired girl.

Ruby gulped. She had seen her sister's fury plenty of times, but never had it been directed at her. "I understand," Her voice was timid, nearly inaudible.

"What?" The glare didn't subside. "I couldn't hear you."

"I understand," The girl said, still quiet but audible to the older girl. Although knew she was a better fighter than Yang, she also understood the elder girls aura would hold up long enough to turn the tides of most battles easily and Ruby didn't want to test those waters.

"Good," Yang responded with a nod. "I'm glad we had this talk." Her eyes returned to their original lilac colour, but her voice retained its burning fury. She went to sleep quickly, turning off the lamp that had been the sole source of light and leaving Ruby to her silent tears in the darkness.

"Yang"

The soft murmur jolted the blonde awake. She looked to the source who was still asleep. Ruby thrashed about as she moaned despairingly. 'Dreaming about me?' Yang thought to herself as she watched the girl, 'Doesn't seem like a good one either.'

 _The blonde brawler stood defiant against the red-haired black-clad White Fang commander. She growled insults at the man as Ruby tried to rush through the seemingly endless space between them. It was as if she was on a treadmill; Never able to gain any ground on the two._

" _Yang!" Her voice was different than she recalled. It was more mature sounding and had the weight of command behind it. It had taken a moment for Ruby to find her voice again, "Yang, please listen to me! I know you're angry. I know you hate him. I know he killed..."_

 _The name on Ruby's lips. Who was it that the man had killed again. She knew the person was important, and she knew that it had been recent, but Ruby could not bring any face to mind nor could she called forth the name that she felt she should never have forgotten. "We can't do this on our own, Yang. We need to fall back and regroup with the others."_

 _Nothing she said seem to phase the other woman as she stared down the man. Yang turned exposing the right side of her body to Ruby. She was shocked to see that her older sister was missing her right arm and even more so that the wound had no blood. It was old. The younger sister wondered why Yang didn't have a robotic prosthetic since they were not hard to obtain these days. 'Maybe the man had destroyed it earlier, and I hadn't noticed?' Ruby thought to herself watching Yang prepare to attack._

" _Yang please..."_

 _Her quivering voice fell still on deaf ears as Yang charged the White Fang commander. She raised her good arm defiantly in an attempt to strike the man who merely crouched slightly while gripping the hilt of his sword and waiting patiently for the woman to draw in close enough. Time slowed as Ruby watched in distress when the man unsheathed his red blade in a single swift, decisive slash. Horror overtook the girl as she watched her sister fall into two halves that decayed slowly into wilted rose petals._

"Yang, No!"

The scream shook the house as Ruby jolted awake and her sister fell off her bed in panic. "Woh, Rosa, is everything alright?" Yang rushed over to her side before asking rhetorically, "Nightmare about me? Guess I put a little too much spice in my threat, eh?" It took the elder girl by surprise when the younger clamped her in the tightest vice-grip of a hug she had ever felt. "Wha-"

"Oh thank Oum it was just a dream," Ruby sobbed into Yang's chest. "H-He killed you; I was so scared."

"Killed me? Who?" Yang's voice shook. "What do you mean?"

"Do- Do you have," Ruby stopped to think for a bit, "Say, a notebook or the like that I can draw in?" She timidly asked as she stared teary-eyed up to her sister.

"Uh, one sec," Yang said, taring herself from the hug and rummaging through a desk in the room. "Ah, Where is it?" She asked herself throwing unneeded objects all over the room. She continued for a good five minutes.

"Here it is!" She shouted ecstatically tossing a book to Ruby, who caught it effortlessly. "The was a gift mom gave me for my birthday last year. I haven't really done much with it, but I wanted to keep it on hand in case I had any zany ideas about something." She flashed a toothy grin at the girl as she pulled a pencil from the desk and handed it to her.

Ruby spent the next hour carefully drawing something on the first empty page she found. Yang tried to get a quick peek or two at what was being depicted but she was unable to get a good angle to make any details out, so she sighed in defeat and waited for the girl to finish.

"Done!" Ruby finally stated as she proudly nodded at her work and turned to show it to Yang. She had drawn a man in a black trench coat and pants. He wore a mask that covered the upper half of his have and with the shading the girl had used Yang guessed that it was white. She also noted the four eye slits in the mask and the flame-like markings it had. Yang could only assume the man was a member of the White Fang.

"Adam Taurus," A voice murmured as the girls looked up to see Summer looming over them staring at the picture. The door to the room had been left ajar, and Taiyang peeked in timidly before vanishing behind the frame. "He's a high ranking official in the White Fang and is quite well known to the authorities. Anyone who has attempted to take him down has ended up dead."

"Wow," Yang whistled, "You really know your stuff, Mom."

"I try to keep up on current events."

"So, this is the guy that killed me in your dream, Rosa?"

"Yeah," Ruby looked down, "I was too slow; I couldn't save you." Tears began forming in her eyes once more, "No matter what I did, I couldn't get close enough to even help." She looked back at the two. Summer ruffled the young girl's hair, and Yang stared at the image of the man.

"Hey, don't sweat it," Yang tried her best to cheer the girl up, "It was just a nightmare."

Ruby nervously chuckled as she scratched the back of her head. "Well, we should get back to sleep, I mean, We have a lot of stuff to do to prep for Beacon, don't we?"

Summer looked at the girl skeptically before suddenly clapping her hands together and causing both girls to jump. "Ruby's right; Back to bed, both of you. No complaints, now." She chirped before leaving the room and shutting the door.

"Hey, you need anything to help you get back to sleep?"

"No, Yang, I'll be fine..." The younger girl nervously trailed off.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hello again everyone, this here is the last part I had written back in NANOWRIMO in 2016.**

 **I would like to thank all of you again for reading the story, reviewing it, and favouriting/following if you enjoyed the story.**

 **The previous chapter was the only one I planned to have follow canon as close is it did. My only regret with it is that while Summer was there, I didn't have her do anything of note.**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read the story and I hope you are enjoying it so far!**

 **~Kayokane**


	6. Chapter 6

Rose petals danced around the workshop in the back of the Rose-Xiao Long household, and the sound of power tools filled the otherwise quiet mid-afternoon air. Ruby maniacally cackled as she put the final touches on the monstrous red sniper scythe.

"Oh, my Sweetheart," She smiled cradling the weapon in her arms like a newborn child, "Finally we are reunited. I'm sorry it took so long, but I had to make sure you were perfect." She sighed happily at the familiar tug of the oversized weapon's weight on her arms as she gave the gun a final look over to make sure she hadn't missed anything critical. Ruby felt a strong desire to go into the forest and hunt down some Beowolves to break the newly rebuilt weapon in, but Uncle Qrow and her father had already dealt with those beasts recently, and they wouldn't be up to satisfying numbers for another few months at least.

"Uncle Qrow?" The girl muttered to herself as she remembered that she had been invited over to test out her precious scythe after she completed it. "But where...?" She realized that she didn't know where he lived. As far back as she could remember he had lived with the family, crashing on a couch.

"The old house in the woods," A voice notes from behind her. Ruby turned to see a tired looking her father yawning as he looked into the room, "Not too far from here if you're up for a hike." Taiyang smiled as he examined the monstrous weapon the petite girl now carried, "Isn't that a little big for someone like you?"

"Oh," Ruby looked at the weapon curiously. "It needs to be this heavy so I can use the recoil from the rounds it fires to re-position effectively," She explains as she furls Crescent Rose into its compact form, "Actually, I think it may be a bit lighter than I remember it being." She stopped for a moment thinking as she looked around the room. "Oh, Just a moment I need to get some stuff," She quickly dashes out of the room leaving a trail of petals behind her.

Confused, Taiyang looks around the room carefully. The rose-petals left behind by the overexcited girl slowly melt away as the source of their existence vanished from the room. Only moments pass before another wave of petals appear in a red blur. "I'm ready!" Ruby joyously shouts as she clips the compacted scythe onto the back of her belt.

"Well, you're pretty quick," Taiyang noted as he looked at the smiling girl. She was now wearing an ammo pouch on her belt, and beside it, on a secondary clip was the grey-green sword that she had when Qrow found her. "Remember to stay close; Summer would kill me if I let you get hurt." He chuckled as the girl nodded.

"You don't need to worry about that," Ruby responded happily as she followed her father out of the house.

* * *

Summer sat within the clockwork room that Ozpin used as the headmaster's office. The steady, monotonous ticking of the gears filled the room as Glynda paced around the room restlessly as she spoke, "What are you thinking Ozpin? This child has no previous schooling and no formal combat training. She'll just get herself killed in Beacon. How can you be so careless?"

"Glynda, please," Ozpin shook his head as he spoke, "You saw it for yourself. Miss Vermillion is more the capable of handling herself." He read through the files of the girl left on his desk, "Hmm, Qrow registered her name. Would you know anything about this, Summer?" He looked over to the white-cloaked woman curiously.

"Nothing of note," She replied shrugging, "Qrow found her on the cliffs the other day, and she's been having," Summer stopped slightly to think of the right word, "Issues with her memories. Qrow gave her a name to use until we figure things out." She shook her head as she finished, "Poor child seems to have gone through a lot."

Ozpin noded, "Hmm... Well, for now, we should ensure she gains the proper training and experience with her powers. I will be quite fortunate for us to have another trained silver-eyed warrior when she graduates."

Summer noded as Glynda sighed heavily, "But what about Qrow, he seems to be trying to ingratiate himself to the girl," She pointed out, "Won't he try and keep her from wishing to join us with his damned conspiracies?"

"They aren't really conspiracies, if we are being honest," Summer giggled in response to the other woman's question, "Not that I think that is much of a worry if anything his warnings would probably drive her closer to us."

"What makes you say that, Summer?" Ozpin asks curiously.

Summer wordlessly smiled in response leaving the other occupants of the room wondering what more she knew about the strange silver-eyed girl.

* * *

"Well, kiddo, I have to say you have a decent stance," Qrow started as he watched Ruby prepare for their fight. The girl held her scythe trailing the blade behind her and leaving it low to the ground. "We'll start whenever you're ready." He chuckled as he raised his broadsword in front of him.

Ruby cocks her eyebrow and smiles smugly as she launches herself towards Qrow with a horizontal slash from her scythe. He easily parries the blow and quickly retaliates in kind. Ruby jumps back with a loud crack from the gun of her scythe to generate the momentum needed to avoid Qrow's strike. She fires several more rounds keeping her opponent on the move until he jumps towards her. Qrow stabs his sword down towards Ruby positioning it between her and her scythe.

Qrow pushed the spine of his blade into Ruby as he used his shoulder to keep the massive scythe pinned between himself and his sword. The twin barrels of his sword clicked into place as they pointed directly at the red-cloaked girl's face and forcing her to ditch her precious oversized weapon to dodge the ensuing shots. Qrow quickly put himself between Ruby, and he now discarded weapon as she pulled the grey-green blade from her belt.

"So," Qrow laughed, "You're doing very well. But why do you want to fight, Kid?" Ruby looked at him in shock as he asked the question. "To be a hero, or save the world from the monsters? Just what are you planning to do when you get to Beacon?"

Ruby winced, "I will save them," She gasps heavily, "I must save them." She collapses to her knees dropping her sword and cupping her head in her hands. "If I can save them, we'll have a chance." The world around her goes black.

* * *

" _What are you planning to do, Ruby?" A freckled farm boy asked the distraught red-head. He held out his hand towards her as she looked up at him, "We are running out of places to go; She'll find us soon."_

 _Ruby nods to him, "Oscar, is there a way to change this," She looked at him desperately, "To go back and save them. We... I can't fight her alone." She tried to make it about them, but she couldn't. She knew how selfish she was being._

" _Ozpin had considered a way, but by the time he came up with it too much of his power had already diminished. He couldn't make use of it." Oscar replied, "We'll need more strength to do it, are you sure?"_

 _Ruby nodded, "Yes, I'm sorry." She looked at him with her teary eyes, "What do we need?"_

" _We need a way to make a portal between two points," He replied. Both of them knew what that entailed, but neither was sure if she would help them. "The relic should be enough to change its properties. Beyond that... I don't know what could happen. It may very well kill you."_

" _We'll be dead soon enough anyway," Ruby sighed, "We've already lost. We just need more time."_

 _They entered the bandit camp without much issue, and Raven stood before them, "You children still think you can beat her?" She chided the two of them as she contemplated their plan. She pulled off her nevermore mask and stared down at Ruby, "What's to stop you from failing again?" the plumage of feathers attached to the side of her black and red kimono fluttered with the wind as she began to pace along the wooden platform that lay in front of her tent._

" _It's not about beating her," Ruby began staring back into the older woman's eyes with unwavering determination. "It's about saving them, everyone! Saving Yang."_

 _Raven stopped; she hesitated at the last word for a moment before turning to the boy beside her, "You want me to open a portal to the past, so you can save your pathetic friends who weren't even strong enough to survive their own fights?" She laughed, "You two are hopeless." She began to turn to enter her tent._

" _We can do it, but we need you." Ruby cried, "We have no other way to make the portal."_

" _My semblance doesn't allow me to go just where ever I want." She shook her head, "They're all dead, I know. I felt their deaths."_

" _Then we'll know if it works." Oscar countered, "If the person you are to send us to is dead the portal won't open, isn't that right?"_

" _Yes, that is true." Raven replied shrugging with a sigh, "Very well, I'll play along with your little game, and when this stupid plan fails you will leave and never bother me again." She looked at Ruby again, "Who do you want me to send you to?"_

" _Qrow, he'll be the most likely one to believe what I have to say." She replied with certainty. Looking at Oscar._

" _You are just as hopeless as your mother," Raven sighed again as she prepared to make the portal._

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **That Qrow v Ruby fight, despite its short length, was really difficult for me to figure out how I wanted it to go. I'm happy with how it turned out, but I definately need to work on my fight scenes down the road.**

 **I hope you're all enjoying the story!**

 **~Kayokane**


	7. Chapter 7

_"Damn it! We're surrounded!"_

"Damn it! We're surrounded!" The twin voices rang out as the girl began to regain her consciousness. Ruby opened her eyes to see the twin worlds – the bandit camp and the forests of Patch – seamlessly coexist. Men and women make their last efforts in panicked defence as the unending horde of Grimm overwhelm them. A woman in a nevermore mask grabs her by the arm, "There's no time for this, we need to hurry."

The voice and the camp faded slowly as Ruby was pulled away. "It seems, we've been slacking, Tai," Qrow's voice laughed as a significantly smaller mob of monsters encircled the two men standing back to back over the waking girl. She slowly rose to her feet as her head still burned with pain. Ruby couldn't think through the pain.

She looked to the one-eyed Qrow as he spoke, "Welcome back, Kiddo, you just sit tight." He had such a warm smile on his face, "Tai and I will take care of this rabble." Ruby looked at him in shock, how could he smile with that metal spike in his chest?

Metal spike, or was it a tail?

Qrow collapsed to the ground as the faunus dragged its mechanically tipped scorpion tail from the huntsman's body. Unhinged laughter erupted from the scorpion, "Oh, Qrow Branwen! How the mighty have fallen," He laughed in an unending torrent as the red-haired girl watched on helplessly. "This time you won't get back up," His voice turned to acid as he spoke finally turning to the girl, "You should have gone with me when you had the chance, but now..." He smiled with insanity beneath his eyes, "The Queen will destroy everything, and you will watch. Oh, how I will enjoy watching you wilt, My little flower."

She felt dizzy again as her vision blurred, but Ruby forced herself forward; she needed to fight. The myriad Grimm began to back off from the attack, and the two men turned as Ruby growled between them. Barely contained molten silver eyes met them as the girl recovered the grey-green sword left at her feet. She beheaded the first beowolf before either of the men had noticed her move. She danced between the Grimm in wordless agony killing several more in quick succession. The fury did not end as the next fell or the one after that.

Eventually, all the Grimm fell, and the girl turned her macabre dance to the largest of the pack. An ancient Ursa stared down at Ruby paralyzed by the sight of her molten silver eyes. She moved. A swipe here; a slash there. None of the attacks cut deep enough to kill the beast as it regained itself. As it swiped at her, its arm fell harmlessly to the ground. Qrow had cleanly severed it from the Ursa's body as he turned towards Ruby. "Now's not the time for games," He shouted hoping to get through to her, "Finish it!"

His words didn't spark the reaction he hoped for as the world vanished in the glare of the brilliant silver energy that previously burned beneath Ruby's eyes. "Well shit," Qrow spat as he covered his face and waited for the light to dissipate. It did not take long for him to blink the remaining spots out of his vision as he surveyed the aftermath of the fight. Ruby had left very little collateral damage in her dance, and the blast of silver had wiped out any trace of the Grimm attackers completely. He nodded to himself. The girl needed a bit of polish, but it was a reasonably good base for him to mould.

"She's out cold, Qrow," Taiyang called the one-eyed man's attention to Ruby who he was looking over for any injuries, "Looks good, not a scratch other than the lumps you gave her." He chuckled, "I wasn't expecting so many Grimm to show up. I thought we did a good job yesterday."

"They were all pretty old," Qrow replied, "Smart to stay sight of a few huntsmen, but stupid to fall for our little fly trap here." He smiled as he looked at the girl sound asleep on the ground, "We should get going, Sum will want to hear about this."

Ruby awoke slowly to the rhythmic sound of a heartbeat and the gentle patting of a hand on her head, "Hmmm?" She groaned as he noticed the dull pain throbbing in her head, "Wha-"

"Well, you've had quite the day haven't you?" Ruby looked up to see the smiling face of Summer staring down at her, "No wonder you've had so many nightmares holding back your power like that." Ruby was slightly embarrassed at being so close to the woman and tried to rise quickly only to realize that her mother had pinned her down in a half hug. "Not so quickly, Mini-me, you'll worsen your headache." Summer frowned slightly as she reminded herself of her own experiences with their shared power.

"I-I-" Ruby started with a stutter, obviously flustered, "What happened? I remember training with Uncle Qrow... but everything is blurry after that."

Summer giggled, "Let's just say we shouldn't have to worry too much about you fighting off Grimm in Beacon," Her face went serious, "But once we start the semester you'll be taking private lessons to make use of your eyes properly. Exploding as you did is very dangerous."

Ruby looked confused, "I exploded?" She asked as her mother nodded before the older woman pointed to Ruby and Yang's room.

"Now quickly pack your things," She ordered, "The airship leaves in two hours, and you will not be late for your first day of school, young lady." The motherly tone in Summer's voice made Ruby happy to obey as the younger Rose vanished in a flurry of rose petals. Summer giggled again, "What a curious child, right Qrow?" Summer asked as she looked at the man standing in the corner. "Why ever would Raven send her to us? It's not like her to throw away a tool like her eyes."

"Beats me," Qrow shrugged. He was slightly shocked that Summer knew his sister had sent Ruby, "She probably doesn't want to deal with that beast trailing your shadow." He rubbed the scar over his dead eye. "It's not exactly a pleasant thing to fight." Qrow watched Summer's eyes sink as he said that, "But that's what we're here for right? Making sure she never has to deal with that thing."

Summer smiled sadly, "Yeah, I only wish you had listened to me when I told you not to get involved in my fights. You'd still have your eye." She jumped as the man let out a loud, hearty laugh.

"Yeah I understand," He smiled behind his sorrowful eye, "Can't change the past. I didn't know Grimm could get so unlucky as to miss an easy kill though." He shrugged again, "Guess I just wasn't in its tastes."

"All done!" Ruby shouted from her room cheerfully before appearing in another burst of petals. She looked around a bit noting the slightly downcast atmosphere, "What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

"Oh, Qrow and I were just discussing some important details about the issues with your scythe stances," Summer lied easily, "He says you have a major issue with swinging it about like a sword more so than a scythe." She sighed heavily as the younger girl scratched the back of her head with a nervous giggle, "So much work to do, so little time."

Qrow smiled again, "Well, I'd best be out now. You be good in school, _Rosa_ ," He emphasized her fake name, "And stay vigilant, Ozpin bound to try and get his fangs into you." He snatched his flask from Summer before letting himself out.

"Wait, Ozpin's a vampire!?" Ruby asked in mock excitement, much to her mother's amusement.

Shortly afterwards, the two of them left the old cabin with Yang. They walked through the paths of the patch woods heading towards the Signal Academy Docks. The short journey was only interrupted by a big black crow diving down and perching itself on Summer's shoulder. The bird allowed the older woman to pet it gently for a moment before taking off again and flying towards the eastern strait of the island.

Everything afterwards on the ride to Beacon happened much as the girl remembered from Glynda's inspirational speech to the arrivals to the blonde boy motion sickness. As the airships doors opened at the Academy's dock, Rosa Vermillion walked onto the platform wondering if she'll be able to change anything.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **My apologies for this taking so long, I had a lot of trouble branching the end of the Patch stuff with the start of the Beacon Arc. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to leave a review if you have any comments or critique.**


End file.
